Customers of Aqua Illinois complained Monday about the quality of water they receive from the utility and the company’s response to nitrate contamination affecting University Park and other communities.

Aqua Illinois is advising customers not to use tap water for infants under 6 months old after recent testing showed elevated nitrate levels in drinking water systems.

But at an Aqua water plant in University Park, where cases of bottled water were being distributed, some customers said they wouldn’t drink the water regardless. The complained of cloudiness in the water flowing from their taps, the smell and the cost.

“We’ve been buying bottled water for a couple of years,” said Melinda Aldaco, who lives in unincorporated Crete Township. “The water is cloudy and it has little floaters in it.”

Her mother, Josephine Bernal, said the water she gets in Crete Township “is horrible” and that “it’s super expensive.”

Aqua Illinois said customers served by its Kankakee River water treatment plant were being warned about what it said were “unprecedented levels of nitrates” in the river water, which is treated for drinking water in Kankakee, Peotone and University Park.

The company said tap water should also not be used to mix infant formula for children under 6 months, and said bottled water should be used.

Aqua Illinois said boiling tap water does not reduce nitrate levels and may in fact make them worse.

The company is handing out cases of bottled water at its University Park water plant, 24650 S. Western Ave., from noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Customers aren’t being asked for proof that they get water from Aqua Illinois, but are limited to one case of water per day.

The company is also distributing water at 1000 S. Schuyler, Kankakee, and 1737 E. Amberstone Road, Manteno.

The company said apart from the three municipalities, water systems serving portions of Crete, Green Garden and Monee townships are also affected by the nitrates.University Park Mayor Joseph Roudez III, told media at the Aqua Illinois plant in his village that he learned of the water warning late Saturday, but since then there has been no other communication.

“They haven’t set a timeline or anything,” Roudez said.

He was critical of the company’s response and warning that while infants shouldn’t drink the tap water, it is OK for older youth and adults.

“That is crap,” Roudez told reporters. “I wouldn’t drink it myself.”

A University Park resident, Arletta Johnson, said she doesn’t like the taste of the water and is worried about drinking it or using it for cooking in light of the new warning.

“I don’t care if it’s six months or whatever, this kind of (stuff) is scary,” she said.

Bob Deckinga, a Peotone resident who pays for Aqua Illinois water, was critical the utility had set up just three distribution points.

“There are an awful lot of people who need water,” he said.

He said he and his wife pay more than $100 a month for water.

Roudez said that, for his two-person household, his monthly bills typically run between $140 and $150.

Roudez said he wants the village and Aqua Illinois to sit down to discuss the possibility of University Park buying back the water infrastructure system, then seeking a source of Lake Michigan water.

“Let us out, let my people go,” Roudez said.

He said it would cost more than $130 million to accomplish that, and he said University Park would look to state sources for the money.

According to the Aqua Illinois warning, infants under 6 months who consume nitrate-contaminated water are at risk of experiencing shortness of breath and blue coloring on the skin, it said.

Aqua Illinois said consumption of the tap water by children over 6 months and adults is fine, but said pregnant women and adults with certain health concerns should consult a doctor.

In a notice issued Saturday, Aqua Illinois said the contamination is likely due to recent heavy rains that caused fertilizer runoff into the Kankakee River.

The company said nitrates in drinking water can vary throughout the year and can come from natural, industrial or agricultural sources.

Aqua Illinois said it collects water samples daily and that when samples showed sudden increases it did more testing to determine nitrate levels, prompting the warning.

Roudez issued a statement Sunday saying police were spreading the word by visiting churches and engaging other organizations, and members of the Police, Fire and Public Works department were canvassing door to door to ensure people receive the news.

He also said village attorneys had reached out to the Will County state’s attorney’s office seeking immediate assistant.